A. Jamali

As Afghanistan's September 18 parliamentary elections draw closer, there are new allegations about Pakistan's involvement in that country's domestic politics. Pakistan has also announced the closure of more than 30

Afghanistan's Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) has issued its final list of the 5,805 candidates registered for the parliamentary and local council elections that are to be held on September

On June 30, 2005, Afghanistan concluded the Disarmament Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) process. During the closing ceremony, President Hamid Karzai called the experience a success and symbolically accepted the last

In the biggest operation since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, last week the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces backed by U.S. helicopters and British jet fighters killed

Afghanistan is facing a bloody summer, after the June 1 bombing of a mosque in Kandahar and an attack in southern Afghanistan on June 8 that killed two American soldiers.

Yesterday, June 1, a suicide bomber struck the grand mosque in Kandahar City, southern Afghanistan, killing at least 27 people and injuring scores of others. Among the dead was the

Monday, May 23, was the last day to register as a candidate for Afghanistan's new parliament. The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) extended the deadline by six days in Nangarhar

On April 17 a new voice was added to the rather crowded airwaves in Afghanistan: Shariat Zhagh, the "Voice of Shariat." For those Afghans who had all but forgotten the

There are increasingly strong indications that the United States and Afghanistan are considering a long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. The hints have come from both sides. The latest discussion

Attempts continue to persuade the Taliban to lay down its arms and join the peace process in Afghanistan. The negotiations, which occur at several levels and at various locations, are

Afghanistan's parliamentary elections have once again been postponed. According to the 2001 Bonn Accords, the elections were scheduled to be held concurrently with the presidential polls in June 2004. When

Afghanistan's parliamentary elections have once again been postponed. According to the 2001 Bonn Accords, the elections were scheduled to be held concurrently with the presidential polls in June 2004. When

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has appointed General Abdur Rashid Dostum as his Chief of Staff for Military Affairs. The appointment is seen as appealing to ethnic Uzbek demands to have

On February 23 President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan arrived in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials. At the same time, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was visiting Tehran. Among

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) presented its first report to President Hamid Karzai in a ceremony in Kabul on Saturday, January 29. The report, entitled "A Call for

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai announced his new cabinet on December 23, almost 50 days after his election as president. His new roster reflects bold steps to exclude the powerful warlords

On Monday December 13, Afghan Planning Minister Ramazan Bashardost tendered his resignation due to a controversy regarding his policies toward non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He is the second planning minister to

On October 9, Hamid Karzai became the first directly elected Afghan president, winning by more than 55% of the vote. Seven weeks later, he is still brooding over his cabinet.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai kicked off his re-election campaign with a September 12 press conference in Kabul. Many of his opponents or their representatives have also begun to carry their

On September 11, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai dismissed Ismail Khan, widely known as the "warlord" of Herat province in western Afghanistan. The move came one day before Karzai announced the

Just before 6 pm on Sunday, August 29, a powerful bomb blast shook the DynCorp office in central Kabul. Reports say as many as seven people, including some foreigners, were

In mid-July, Afghanistan's interim president, Hamid Karzai, issued two statements that reflected an unprecedented toughness toward drug traffickers and warlords in the country. Karzai summoned most of Afghanistan's reputed warlords

A British parliamentary panel issued a report in late July calling attention to Afghanistan's political fragility. The report warns that "Afghanistan could implode with terrible consequences," unless security is improved

Monday July 26 was the deadline for candidates to register for Afghanistan's upcoming presidential elections. The cut-off date brought several surprises for the Afghan electorate and for the international community

On July 22, General Abdur Rashid Dostum, the strongman of northern Afghanistan, announced his intention to run for the presidency. He called his decision the will of the representatives of

The latest surge of violence against poll workers and other civilians in Afghanistan's eastern and southwestern provinces killed at least 18 people and left more than 13 injured, some seriously.

On June 17, Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor province in northwestern Afghanistan fell to the hands of a renegade commander Abdul Salam. The governor appointed by the central government has

The apparent shift in U.S. Afghan policy away from the Northern Alliance and toward the Pashtun-dominated south (see yesterday's EDM) appears to be driven by two factors: internal and external.

On April 8, 2004, U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in her testimony before the commission on the 9-11 attacks in the United States, spoke of "a new strategic approach